Voters want death penalty as an option

A new Quinnipiac University poll out this morning shows that voters disapprove of the legislature’s vote earlier this month to repeal the death penalty and disapprove by a bigger margin of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s job performance.

The pollsters asked the death penalty question in a variety of ways to different people, and got the following results:

When half of the voters in the survey are asked if the State Legislature’s decision to abolish the death penalty is a “good idea” or “bad idea,” they say “bad idea” 60 – 34 percent, the independent Quinnipiac University poll finds.

When the other half of voters are asked about abolishing the death penalty and replacing it with life in prison with no chance of parole, they say “bad idea” 54 – 42 percent. Voters who attend religious services weekly say “good idea” 50 – 46 percent. Voters who attend services less frequently say “bad idea” 58 – 38 percent.

In deciding what to do with inmates currently on Connecticut’s Death Row:

  • 49 percent of voters say do not abolish the death penalty at all;
  • 25 percent say abolish the death penalty for all cases, including those on Death Row;
  • 21 percent say abolish the death penalty only for future cases, not for current convicts.

When it came to Malloy, survey found that a plurality of voters personally like the first-term governor, but that by a 44-37 margin they disapprove of his job performance. His approval rating is down seven points from a month ago, when voters disapproved by only a 45-44 margin.

Roy Occhiogrosso, Malloy’s senior adviser, released a statement acknowledging the poll but not putting much stock in the results:

“We have tried to be consistent in not saying much about polls because…what’s there to say?” he said. ” Polls come and go, numbers go up and down.  The Governor always does what he thinks is best for the state and the right thing to do.”

The poll also showed …

  • Freshman U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is far more popular than his senior colleague, Sen. Joe Lieberman, but both men are less popular than they were a month ago. Blumenthal, a Greenwich resident, has an approval rating of 58 percent — the highest of any statewide elected official, but a drop from the 64 percent he registered in March. Lieberman, from Stamford, has an approval rating of 45 percent and a disapproval rating of 41 percent this month — down from a 51/38 breakdown last month.
  • In what may be considered an alarming development for President Barack Obama, the President’s approval rating in deep blue Connecticut dipped this month to 49 percent, while his disapproval shot up to 47 percent. Last month 53 percent of voters approved while 43 percent disapproved.
  • By a margin of 70 percent to 28 percent, voters approve of raising the state’s minimum wage from $8.25 an hour. The idea is supported by 88 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of independents and 48 percent of Republicans.
Ben Doody